He came through to the hall from their bedroom, looking handsome in his pin-striped business suit – a change from his officer’s uniform, which also suited him so well. But then her Cyrus looked beautiful in anything.

‘What a wonderful sound, darling. To hear you so happy has lifted me. Is it Freddy?’

‘Yes, a letter from Freddy at last. I’ll read it out:

‘Dearest Mama and Papa,

I am so happy and relieved to know that you are both all right.’

It was obvious that his letter had been vetted, as the first sheet had been cut off at this point and was shorter than the others. She guessed that Freddy had asked about all of his siblings and Paulo, as well as Ella, Arnie and Lonia. She read on:

‘Oh, Mama and Papa, when you eventually go home you will find a hundred letters from me – that’s if they ever reached there. I have been desperate to hear news of you all. When the War Office contacted me, I was over the moon.

‘I am doing all right. I expect you know all my news by now. I have many friends and we keep each other going; a lot of the time is spent playing football, which I love. There is a British coach here, and he told me that I am good enough to play professionally – how about that?

‘Well, Mama and Papa, write soon and, if you can, send me a woolly jumper as it gets very cold at night. And some cigarettes. I know I shouldn’t have, but with everything else, I have begun to smoke, but have to pinch from my mates because, not declaring myself a smoker, I don’t have a ration of them. Oh, and some boiled sweets; the ones I love, which Aunt Mags used to bring over to France for me – happy days, but they will come back and we will win this war.

‘Keep faith, Mama and Papa, I love you both very much. Give my love to everyone and tell them that I pray for them all every night, as I do for you, Mama and Papa. I miss you all so much, but know that we will all be together again sometime in the future.

‘Your loving son, Freddy x’

Tears were flowing down Flors’s face as she finished the letter.

Cyrus’s arm came round her and his love reassured her, as it always did. ‘You’d better get knitting, Mama!’

Laughing through her tears, she pushed him playfully on the shoulder. ‘I’ll get Mags to send me down one of those fishermen’s jumpers from her friend’s shop in Scotland. She’ll be telephoning tonight. But cigarettes – ugh, I don’t like to think of Freddy smoking.’

‘I expect he needs something to help him, and smoking is very soothing on the nerves. I always turn to my Senior Service cigarettes when I’m stressed.’